James Armistead

James Armistead Lafayette (born 1748 or 1760 – died 1830 or 1832) was an enslaved African American who served the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War under the Marquis de Lafayette, and later received a legislative emancipation. As a double agent, he reported the activities of Benedict Arnold after he had defected to the British, and of Lord Cornwallis during the run-up to the Battle of Yorktown. He fed the British false information while disclosing very accurate and detailed accounts to the Americans.

Early life

James was born to an enslaved mother either in North Carolina or Virginia. He became the property of Col. John Armistead of New Kent County, Virginia. Well before the Colonel's death in 1779 he became the first slave owned by and personal manservant of Armistead's son William. Most sources believe that he was born in 1748, though others put his birth around 1760. James' owner taught him to read and write.

American Revolution

His owner William Armistead was an ardent patriot, and served as commissary for Virginia's troops in the revolutionary war. His father had died in 1779 and he inherited stores and land, as well as James (who never during his lifetime used "Armistead" as his surname). As the conflict had begun in 1775, Virginia's last royal governor, Lord Dunmore, promised freedom to slaves who joined his forces. In January 1781, British raiders led by former Continental Army general (and turncoat) Benedict Arnold landed at Westover Plantation downriver from New Kent County, and his troops conducted raids in Virginia's Tidewater region, including Richmond and caused Governor Jefferson and legislators to flee. With Armistead's consent, James volunteered to serve the Continental Army under General Lafayette. Lafayette used James as a courier, laborer and spy. Posing as a runaway slave, James Armistead joined Arnold's camp in Portsmouth, Virginia. Pretending to be a spy for the British allowed Armistead to gain Arnold's confidence to the extent that Arnold used him to guide British troops through local roads. "The ex-slave, who later renamed himself James Armistead Lafayette in the general's honor, served as a double agent against the British under the avowedly anti-slavery Lafayette."

After Arnold departed north in the spring of 1781, James remained in Virginia and continued his work at the camps of Lord Charles Cornwallis. As a courier, James traveled between British camps, and often overheard officers speak openly about their strategies. James prepared written reports, and delivered them to other American spies. In this way, he relayed much information about the British plans for troop deployment and their arms. Reports from his espionage were instrumental in helping the revolutionary forces defeat the British during the Battle of Yorktown.

Legislative emancipation

Although Virginia enacted a manumission act in 1782 allowing for the freedom of any slave who had fought in the Revolution, James Armistead remained the property of William Armistead. This was because the next year (1783) another law specifically freed only slaves who had been issued firearms (i.e. whose owners had used them as substitutes for army service). James had served as a spy, not a soldier, and did not carry a gun. Thus his first petition for emancipation was not passed even by a legislative committee before the session ended. However, James persisted and succeeded with the support of William Armistead – again in 1786 a member of the House of Delegates – and Lafayette's personal 1784 testimonial as to James's service. On January 9, 1787, Virginia's governor signed petition which both houses of the assembly had passed, and Virginia later compensated Armistead for James' appraised value. Upon receiving his freedom, James added "Lafayette" (or "Fayette") as his surname to honor the French general.

Later life

James Lafayette acquired two parcels totaling about forty acres in New Kent County in 1816 and became a relatively wealthy farmer in the area. In addition to his (second) wife and several children (including a son), he bought three slaves to work his land. In 1818, Lafayette applied to Virginia's legislature for a pension based on his revolutionary service. He eventually received $60 for present relief and a $40 annual pension, which he traveled to Richmond to collect twice a year thereafter.

In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States at the invitation of President James Monroe. He made a tour of all 24 states, during which huge crowds gathered to see him and he was feted as a hero. Lafayette visited Yorktown, as well as Washington's grave at Mount Vernon and also gave a speech to the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. While in Richmond, he abruptly ordered his carriage stopped when he saw James in the crowd, and rushed to embrace him.

Death and legacy

Sources differ as to whether James A. Lafayette died in Baltimore or New Kent County in 1830 (the year he picked up his last pension payment), or in Virginia in 1832.

During his lifetime, James's heroism was mentioned in a two-volume book of historical fiction by James E. Heath,''Edge Hill: or the Family of the Fitz Royals.''(1828) The French artist Jean-Baptiste Le Paon included a Black servant in French livery in a portrait he painted of the Marquis de LaFayette in 1785, which some think was intended to represent this man. John Blennerhassett Martin painted his portrait about the time of Heath's book, and distributed copies with the Marquis de LaFayette's testimony concerning his service.
Some believe a figure of James Lafayette may be on the Lafayette memorial dedicated in Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, New York in 1917. In 1997, Virginia erected a highway marker on the grounds of the historic New Kent County courthouse to recognize his service.

See also

*Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War
*Intelligence operations in the American Revolutionary War
*Benjamin Tallmadge
*''Liberty's Kids'', episode 35

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Armistead, James
18th-century births
1830s deaths
American spies during the American Revolution
British spies during the American Revolution
Double agents
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
People of Virginia in the American Revolution
People from New Kent County, Virginia
Black Patriots